Arrow: Fracture Part 3

Ignition

The cold wind traveled through the night air, moving along the ancient stone fortress. The darkened sky seemed close enough to touch this high in the mountains, the bright moon illuminating the area. The large structure was nestled in the mountainside high above the neighboring villages in the valley below. A single man walked along the stone wall overlooking the valley below, as well as the impossibly steep cliff that protected the structure from a rear invasion. The sound of crumbling stone caught the guards attention as he turned toward the decaying section of the stone wall and inspected it. He gently touched the crumbling section of the stone, causing a few pebbles to fall free. Convinced that the noise was simply caused by the ancient state of the structure the man moved to return to his patrol. Upon turning he received a sudden strike from a sword to his abdomen, killing him without a sound. The guard was lowered to the ground by his killer, who wore an almost identical outfit as his victim. The hooded man spun around to check if his attack had gone unnoticed. The silence answered him as he moved the dead body aside and out of sight. The sound of more crumbling rocks rose from the wall's edge as another man climbed over the stone.

"I thought ARGUS operatives were more perceptive of their surroundings." Malcolm Merlyn began as he stepped away from hiding the dead man.

"Yeah well climbing the side of a mountain tends to break focus." Riley Fitzgerald replied as he pulled himself up over the ledge and caught his breath.

"The League of Assassins built this fortress ontop of a mountain for just that reason Mr. Fitzgerald." Merlyn began as he removed his hood and turned to his young partner.

"To ensure that when the day came that someone did breach the walls that they would be broken before the battle even began." The two men checked their gear as they removed the climbing gear that had assisted in the massive ascent. Riley smirked as he readied his sidearm, enjoying Merlyn's words of wisdom that he always seemed to share no matter the situation. He often wondered if Merlyn had been this chatty with Thea when he trained her.

"Which is why every member of the League must make the climb and survive a battle with their teacher." Merlyn added, sharing a playful grin with his partner.

"I guess it's a good thing that you taught me a few tricks then, but let's save the fighting for the people who are going to try and kill us." Riley replied, pulling his phone from his pocket. He quickly brought up a program that was imperative to the assignment.

"Alright. Stick to the plan, I'll head to the server room and get our info."

"And I'll get to the lab and see if I can find anything useful." Merlyn completed as the two moved off in different directions. The ancient fortress dug into the ground as both men entered and moved through the stone corridors and hallways, both trying to remain hidden from the patrolling enemies. Merlyn reached his destination first, the labs in which something awful was most likely being created. The technical layout of the room reminded Merlyn of his former companies R&D department. The few technicians working seemed to be focused on a mechanical task before them. The large device sat in the middle of the group as they adjusted and altered bits of it, each extremely careful not to disrupt any of their progress. Merlyn studied the area for any hidden threats before taking a closer look at the device itself. He stood in shock for a moment as he took in the sight before him, slightly startled that such a device was so close to being finished. Fear crept up his spine as the ramifications of such an instrument being activated circled through his mind. A brief memory of the destruction he had brought to the Glades played back in his thoughts as he tried to imagine the destruction this device would cause. His earthquake device would collapse in comparison to the destructive nature of this weapon. Merlyn wasted no time, knowing he had no other option but to act. He retrieved an arrow from his quiver and guided it to his bow. A series of controlled gunshots caused him to take cover before he could fire, alerting the technicians. The newly arriving guards flooded into the laboratory with their weapons ready. These men weren't members of the League, even though firearms weren't forbidden most of the Assassins preferred traditional weapons. Merlyn kept low as he returned fire while moving away from the advancing enemies. He managed to drop a few of the men with well placed arrows to the chests, but knew he wouldn't last long in such an enclosed area. The guards tactics were also troubling to Merlyn, these men clearly knew what they were doing. Their advanced flanking maneuver had nearly caught Merlyn by surprise, causing him to duck behind a nearby table for cover as the bullets ripped apart the lab equipment around him. He hunkered down and decided to change his own tactics and hopefully even the fight. Merlyn activated a smoke bomb from his belt and waited as the cloud of grey thickness covered the entire section of the lab. The guards slowed their advance as they spread out and moved toward their target, weapons ready and gas mask on. The sound of breaking glass released from one guard's boot as he stepped on a broken piece of lab equipment. The man scanned the smoke filled area around him as Merlyn darted past while stabbing him in the back with a knife before disappearing into the smoke once again. The collapsing guard caught another man's attention as he spun around toward the noise. A second guard behind him was struck by Merlyn's sword, twisting the man's body backward as he crashed into a shelf. The remaining guards closed in on the noise and kept their weapons ready as they all moved back against one another, effectively covering every angle around them. The men scanned back and forth as the smoke began to clear and reveal the lab around them once again. Merlyn suddenly dropped down from above the men and quickly engaged them before they could react. He managed to knock one man away while keeping the others weapons out of the fight. Merlyn moved quickly as he struck each man one after another, trading back and forth as he weakened them one at a time. The guards struggled to fight back, landing a few strikes but unable to gain any momentum. Merlyn eliminated the men one by one, using one unlucky man as a human shield from his comrades gunfire. The remaining guards fell at the end of Merlyn's sword and compact bow that he was using as a close quarters weapon. He wrapped the bow under the final guard's chin and jerked it to the side, snapping the man's neck. The motionless bodies lay at Merlyn's feet as he looked up to see more men approaching.
The darkened server room had only had two men guarding it, who were now lying dead against the wall behind Riley. He held onto his phone as it retrieved as much information as he could from the server bank.